Of Archaeologists, Aliens, & Space Pirates
by Little Miss Jigsaw
Summary: When Jonas returns to the SGC after a war devastates his home planet, he solves the slight problem of SG-1 being short a member. But when Vala takes an interest in him, he may just cause a few more where Daniel is concerned. temporary-J/V D/V S/J
1. Prologue

Well, it's been forever since I had an SG-1 fic... Summary sucks though XD but this one was hard to summarize.

A warning for anyone expecting... well... the show... You won't get it. This will mostly be character stuff. I may suddenly decide to actually have _some_ plot now and then- likely involving the Lucian Alliance, since they never really did get rid of them- but for the most part, it's character-driven.

Any Jonas haters;... well, why you clicked on this in the first place, I don't know, but if you DID: Jonas is a major player. In fact, as I will only be alternating between him, Vala, and Daniel- with the exception of the prologue, because it has no pov- about a third of this fic will be from his viewpoint.

Anyone disgusted by the idea of Vala with anyone besides Daniel; turn away now, because there WILL be some major J/V going on, at least for a while (my 'shippy loyalties lie with D/V, so I really couldn't end it on anything else, could I?)

as you read in the summary, 'ships are Jonas/Vala, Daniel/Vala, and Sam/Jack, though the S/J is more in mentions from the others.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, Daniel and Vala would be married, Jonas would still be a member of the team, and Sam and Jack would have gotten over their issues in season 4, and thus Pete would never have been needed -_-.

**Of Archeologists, Aliens, and Space Pirates**

**Prologue**

"But Daniel!"

The two simple words made the occupants of the briefing room sit up a little straighter. 'But Daniel', 'Daniel, darling', and 'Vala, not now' were but a few of the two to three word combinations that usually signaled the start of a briefing- others included 'Go away', 'Play nice, darling', and 'No, you can't'- when Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Vala Mal Doran were involved. Those already in the room all glanced at each other, wondering what the fight was about _this_ time.  
Daniel came through the door only moments after Vala's voice had reached the room, the woman in question right on his heels. Daniel looked to be doing his best at ignoring his constant shadow, and Vala had the look of a cat that didn't like being ignored; the look that said the feline was going to climb bare limbs, and use as many claws as possible in doing so. Thankfully, both found their seats before any shredding of flesh could begin.

"Dr. Jackson, I trust that this... disagreement... Can be settled another time," Though phrased as such, General Landry's words weren't a question.

Daniel nodded, with a pointed look at Vala, "Yes, General."

Vala responded to the look with a glare. Daniel merely raised an eyebrow at her in return. Vala sighed almost inaudibly, and relaxed somewhat, though she was still clearly annoyed. Such silent conversations happened more and more frequently, of late. Apparently the two could speak volumes to each other in a few seconds, with just a few looks. Cam theorized that it was some weird form of telepathy that developed from spending too much time together. Sam thought it was cute. Jack was running betting pools on when Daniel would "stop dicking around and make a move". Teal'c just watched any interactions between the two with a small, knowing smile that the others just didn't get.

"Good," Landry continued, "Then we can get down to business... Dr. Jackson, I understand you requested that SG-1 be posted on P8C-495?"

Ignoring Vala's silent, yet obvious questions- likely about treasure- Daniel replied, "Yes, sir... SG-14 is excavating the ruins they found there last month, and I was looking forward to being there when they reached the burial chambers... See, the culture appears very similar to that of the Mayans, just greatly advanced technologically, and-"

"I read the report, Dr. Jackson," Landry interrupted. He looked at Cam, "And you, Colonel Mitchell, requested that SG-1 accompany Colonel Carter, and General O'Neill on the _General Hammond_''s first flight."

"Now _that's _a mission," Jack inserted.

There was an annoyed sigh from Vala's direction; everyone knew she hated to be stuck on the ships more than anything. She wasn't the only one. Since the incident with the Odyssey, Teal'c had shown great reluctance when boarding any of the Airforce ships. Though as he was no longer an official member of SG-1, _he_ wouldn't be ordered to go, should Landry side with Cam. General Landry glanced towards the woman, shook his head, and returned his attention to Daniel and Cam, both of whom were watching him very closely, trying to see if they could guess who he was going to side with.

Another headshake. He almost would have welcomed a world crisis right then, so he wouldn't have to choose sides. That was what his job had boiled down to, lately, with regards to SG-1. Those that remained of it, anyway. Colonel Carter had her own command, General O'Neill was technically retired, Teal'c had rejoined the Jaffa High Council. Only Mitchell, Jackson, and Vala were still members of SG-1.

It was only because of the launching of the _General Hammond_ that they were all gathered around the same table again.

"I'm going to have to approve Dr. Jackson's request, for the time being," Landry finally said.

Cam did his best not to groan, "Sir, the excavation site isn't going any-"

"Colonel Mitchell, the _ship_ isn't going anywhere," the general cut in. All heads turned towards him in curiosity.

Teal'c was the next to speak, "Was the _General Hammond_ not scheduled to launch at the end of this week, GeneralLandry?"

"It was postponed for another two weeks. Maybe more."

"Why wasn't I told about this, sir?" Sam didn't sound at all pleased.

"I was just informed of it myself, Colonel, before we got started. Apparently there's been a mishap with the new hyperdrives, and it will be a while before the damage can be repaired."

"Your ship's not even off the ground and it's already broken, Carter," Jack quipped, "Maybe it's a sign."

Sam gave him a look that she wouldn't have dared use while he was still her CO, "Nice try, sir."

It was no secret that Jack had been hinting at there being a position open at Homeworld Security, or at the need for geeks on Atlantis now that the city was floating near San Francisco, in the hopes of keeping Sam on earth. When this tactic had failed, he had volunteered to join her on the new ship. As had Cam, simply for the fact that he loved flying. Vala had balked at the possibility of being stuck on the "metal can of boredom", and Daniel had thought the prospect interesting, until he got word of P8C-495.

"So, to 495 it is," Cam muttered, looking like someone had just shot his dog.

Vala was grinning; for now, she had escaped the ship. "So, Darling, back to the matter of the credit cards-" The rest of her sentence was cut off by the blaring siren, and Walter's voice over the intercom.

"Unscheduled off-world activation!"

Almost as one everyone around the briefing room table got to their feet and made for the stairs that led to the control room. They arrived just as the gate actually established the wormhole, with the usual 'whoosh'.

"Receiving an IDC, sir," Walter informed Landry, "It's an older one, sir; the Kelownans."

"Open it up, Chief," Landry replied, turning to tell SG-1- former and current members- to go and greet their guests, only to find that the team was already heading for the gateroom. They were standing at the base of the ramp in front of the gate before the iris was even fully open.

Of the six SG-1 members, Vala was the only one who had _no_ idea who exactly they were expecting. As Cam had read every SG-1 mission report, he knew who his teammates were hoping was going to come through the gate. They hadn't heard anything from the Kelownans about the state of Langara after the defeat of the priors, and Cam knew from talking with Sam that the lack of contact worried them all, in regards to the fate of their former teammate, Jonas.

"This is the first contact from Langara in what? Two, three years?" the question wasn't directed at anyone particular, but Daniel replied.

"almost two and a half," he said, "After they fell to the Ori, we never heard anything... We thought they might try to contact us, once the priors were taken care of. We tried to contact them, and got no response."

Any further conversation was cut short by a handful of people materializing in front of the 'gate. However, the group wasn't the calm collection of ambassadors that had been expected. These people were panicked, and stumbling over each other. Barely a second after the group, a final lone figure stepped through.

Without so much as a hello, or even a glance spared for his friends, Jonas Quinn looked up towards the control room, and shouted, "Close the Iris! _Now!_"

Just as the iris closed, there was a suspiciously loud impact; whatever had come through was much too large to have been a person. From past experience, anyone who witnessed it would have agreed that it could only have been one thing; a bomb.

Shoulders sagging in relief, Jonas looked at his friends, and barely managed a small smile.

While everyone else remained speechless, Jack stepped forward, "What the hell was that?"

------

Chapter one coming up in just a few moments.


	2. Chapter One

Daniel's POV for this one.

Perhaps I should clarify on the whole Daniel/Vala/Jonas thing- this will start out D/V, turn to J/V, and through some sequence of events that I haven't entirely decided upon yet, will end up in D/V.

Disclaimer: Nope... still own nothing. I'm just borrowing things for my own evil purposes.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"I repeat my question; what _the hell_ was that?"

The door to the briefing room had barely been shut before Jack rounded on his young friend. Daniel grimaced at the sharp sound of both the door slamming, and Jack's tone.

"Jack, maybe you should back off for a second," he said, concerned by the fact that Jonas looked ready to fall over. Had it not been for a well placed chair, he might have, "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation." Of course, he had no idea what that explanation might be. Typically, allies didn't try to blow each other up.

"There had damn well better be," General Landry grumbled, sinking into his own chair, "I've got ten new people in my infirmary, and according to the readings we took, we very nearly had a naquadria-enhanced nuke blow up in our faces."

"Now see, I don't get that," said Jack, taking a seat next to Sam, "We saved their asses, and they say thanks by trying to blow us up. I'm no diplomat, but that just doesn't seem right to me."

"It's not," Jonas finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, and the simple act of speaking made his lips crack, and bleed. "They-" whatever he intended to say was cut off by a coughing fit.

To Daniel, the younger man looked like he'd been through a war zone; he was covered in dust- probably the reason for the coughing-, and small scrapes and scratches, his clothes were torn, he had a bruise forming on his right cheek, and the blood smeared on his sleeve, and on his upper lip suggested he'd taken a hit right to the nose; it had been bloodied, if not broken.

As Jonas' coughing fit continued, Daniel reached towards the pitcher of water in the center of the table, and an empty glass; if the coughing was being caused by all the dust and debris, then a drink might just ease it off. He stopped mid-task when he realized someone had beaten him to it; Vala was already offering a full glass of water to her fellow alien, who took it with a quick nod of thanks. Daniel blinked at the show of concern, before allowing himself a twitch of a smile when she looked at him. Even such a little thing reminded him of the amazing progress she had made in the few years she'd been with the SGC.

The moment he was able, Jonas gulped down the entire glass of lukewarm water in one go, "Thanks," he said to Vala, his voice still hoarse, but at least it didn't sound like he was talking through a pound of dirt. "General Landry, if we hadn't come through when we did, we would be stuck in Kelowna, and likely dead. I had no choice but to wait until they were preparing to send the bomb, to get us through; the 'gate was too heavily guarded at any other time... As it is we lost five of our people."

"What happened?" Sam asked, "... This doesn't have anything to do with the Ori, does it?"

Jonas shook his head, "No, no the Prior is gone; he left two years ago. I assume you had something to do with that."

"Indeed," said Teal'c, with a quick inclination of his head.

"Thanks. But in the end, that's what started everything. When the prior came, Kelowna fell almost immediately. Those of us who didn't had to hide. Most of us didn't last long. People were.. burned... alive," he glanced at Vala when she visibly shivered, "-but the Andaris, and the Teranians; their governments wouldn't give in. So the prior had Kelownan scientists construct more naquadria bombs. He sent one to the Andaris. After that, it was only a matter of time before Terania fell. When the prior left, I thought maybe we could start to rebuild... But the bombing brought the old distrust back to the surface. See, Kelowna had remained untouched, as far as destruction went; the others didn't see that as a good thing. The Andaris wanted revenge for the bombing on their country, and the Teranians... Well, the Teranians had been looking for an excuse to use their own naquadria-based weapons..." He paused, to grab another glass of water.

"So, all this time, you've been caught in another war?" Cam inquired, "I know the mission reports said the bad blood ran deep on Langara, but I didn't think there'd actually be another war."

"None of this explains why my base was nearly destroyed," said Landry, "We could have helped smooth things over again."

"I'm surprised you smoothed things over in the first place, General," said Vala, "If it's as bad as you all say."

"It was," Daniel sighed, remembering the hours of arguing during the mission to destroy a vein of transforming naquada. The fighting had only stopped when they were threatened with being abandoned on a planet that was about to be destroyed. Though he really couldn't believe what he was hearing. If the Kelownans had been so desperate as to try and destroy a decent chunk of earth....

"Trust me, there was no smoothing to be done this time," Jonas refilled his glass a second time, and took another drink, "After nearly two years of fighting, Terania, and what was left of Andari effectively took over Kelowna... Only, the new government is so paranoid, they started wondering how long it would be before Earth realized what had happened, and tried to help the Kelownans take back the land... I don't know what they promised First Minister Dreylock in return, but she told them what our IDC was... When I found out, I saw an opportunity to get through the 'gate. I gathered as many people as I could that wanted to leave, and we waited until they were ready to send the bomb through... One of the guards got off a lucky toss with a grenade, and one of the columns in the new 'temple' collapsed. It killed two people. Then when we actually met up with the guards, another was killed... Then when we came through the gate... Two were left behind. And anyone who refuses to accept the new government is shot on sight... I've been at the top of their list for a while now...." he trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose with this thumb and forefinger, as if he had a headache. Which he probably did; if the damage to his face was any indication.

"General, I really think he should get to the infirmary," said Daniel, "You have your answers, for now."

General Landry nodded, "You're all dismissed," he said, as he stood, "Thank you, Mr. Quinn." With that, he headed for his office.

Everyone else stood, except for Jonas, who hadn't appeared to even notice the General's thanks. "Jonas, we need to get you to the infirmary," said Sam, reaching out, and placing a hand on his shoulder. The contact jolted him into awareness, and he tried to stand.

He might have fallen, if not for Vala's quick reflexes; she caught him just as he started to tip over, and continued to support him. "I can take him," Cam started to say, only to be ignored, as Vala made her way towards the door, Jonas moving along with her.

"Well, that was strange," said Jack, "Does she usually-"

"Occasionally, sir," Sam interrupted, "C'mon... We should see how everyone else is doing..."

* * *

"They're all severely dehydrated, malnourished, one has ruptured eardrums, and more than a few have concussions," Dr. Lam was saying, "Jonas was the worst off; if he'd arrived any later, I really don't think I could have helped him. As it is, it may be a while before he's back on his feet. The severity of his concussion, and the extent to which he was dehydrated... I'd say he had about a day left, on his planet."

"He appeared to have been insinuating that most of his injuries were sustained today, Dr. Lam," said Teal'c, "Are you saying that is not the case?"

Lam shook her head, "No, it's not. I'd say the head injury that caused the concussion was sustained at least two days ago. I don't know exactly how long he and the others have been without food, or decent amounts of water, but it certainly hasn't been for just today."

"How is he at the moment?" Jack asked.

"He's conscious, for now, but I can't say how long that will last. He'll probably be in and out of it for the next couple of days," looking at each of them for a second, she added, "You can see him, _one_ at a time if you like, but _don't_ wear him out any more than he already is; keep it short. He needs to be resting." With nothing else to add, she left the group there, and made her way to another of her patients- Daniel wasn't surprised to see that it was Sergeant Siler, being treated for what looked like electrical burns.

That left the matter of the order in which they all got to see Jonas.

Daniel hung back, deciding he'd go last. Sam, Jack, and Teal'c knew Jonas better than anyone else; it was only right that they got to go first. Despite Cam's excitement at finally meeting the man he'd read about, he had left when Dr. Lam had. Which only left Vala; she was next to Daniel, with an arm laced through his- he couldn't bring himself to push her away- watching her former teammates.

"So, you used to work with him, then?" Vala asked, as Jack passed them on his way out.

"I have, some... But he was part of the team when I was ascended. The first time. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c... _They're_ his team," Daniel replied. He remembered how out of place he'd felt upon his return to the SGC, before he'd fully recovered his memories... He'd gotten back just enough to know that these people were his family... But then he saw the way they were with Jonas, and he'd started to doubt the few memories he had; wondered if maybe he was no longer needed. He'd been wrong, of course, but he hadn't realized that until a conversation with Jonas, about how things had been going since his death.

"What do you think will happen to him and the others?"

"General Landry will probably offer to relocate them," Daniel nodded at Teal'c as the Jaffa walked by, "But I wouldn't be surprised if Jonas requested a place on an SG team."

Not bothering to reply, Vala laid her head on Daniel's shoulder, eliciting the usual frown, and raised eyebrow, which she ignored, also as usual. Daniel sighed, but as he had when she'd attached herself to his arm, he made no attempt to remove her. He'd gotten to the point where little things like her grabbing his hand, or leaning against him no longer phased him. Of course, the lack of gruff orders to remove herself had only encouraged it, and lately she appeared to need to be in constant contact when it was at all possible. Off-world, it would be a quick brush of arms against each other, on the base it would be her feet touching his under a table, or linked arms, or shoulders pressed together when they sat next to each other. Daniel graced none of these with a response, beyond a look, and Vala never commented on it.

"Daniel, you're up," Sam called, as she too made her way for the door.

"Alright," Daniel replied, shoving himself away from the wall where he'd been leaning, "Hey, still up for dinner at O'Malley's tonight?"

Sam shook her head, "No; I'm heading home. Cam's already left, anyway, and I need to see if I can speed up the repairs on my ship."

Daniel chuckled, "Jack won't be happy about that. I'm sure he saw the ship needing repairs as a way to get you to relax."

"I'm sure he did, " Sam replied, "Well, goodnight. I'll see about getting Jack free for next Friday, so we can still have our team night. Oh, Vala, I have a trip to Washington on Tuesday, so we'll have to reschedule our shopping trip."

"Alright then; I'll just have to make Daniel take me instead," Vala replied, waving at Sam.

Daniel rolled his eyes, waved at Sam, and headed towards Jonas' little corner of the infirmary, dragging Vala with him; though this was more due to her arm still being linked with his, and less from any real desire to have her tag along. With most of the dirt removed, Jonas actually looked worse off; the bruises and cuts could be seen in all their glory. For a moment, Daniel thought he had already fallen asleep. If it hadn't been for the quiet "Hey" he might have left right then.

Instead, he spoke, "Hey, how're you feeling?"

Without opening his eyes, Jonas gave a weak shrug, "Better than I was. I forgot how great earth pain killers are."

"They're certainly effective," Vala put in.

Jonas cracked on eye open to look at her, "You're the one who got me down here?" Both Daniel and Vala nodded, "Thanks. In retrospect, I probably should have come here first, but I needed to explain things to the General."

"How long have you been on the run?" Daniel asked, recalling Dr. Lam's assessment of his condition.

"Since the Prior, really," was the reply, "I was fine... or fine as I could be, when the war started. Then Kelowna was taken over a few months ago, and I was on the most wanted list again..."

Daniel shook his head, "Jonas, if we'd known..."

"I know," Jonas closed his eyes again, "I think whatever the doc gave me to help me relax is kicking in."

"Alright; we'll get out of here. I'll come by again tomorrow. Cam will probably want to be properly introduced to you," Daniel turned away, again pulling Vala with him- this time intentionally-, only to stop when Jonas spoke again.

"Hey, Daniel? You still have my fish?"

"Yeah. Still in my office."

"Thanks."

* * *

"I really don't see the point in all this, Daniel," Vala was saying, as Daniel _attempted_ to get to his quarters, "We both know it's going to happen eventually."

"Vala, I'm really not in the mood for this," Daniel sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him- though he wondered if the kind she was getting was entirely the kind she wanted- and that to react in any way would only encourage her, but it had been a hell of a day, and he couldn't muster his normal mask of indifference.

He expected Vala to have some inappropriate remark to that statement.; instead, her whole body sagged, and she sighed, "Fine. Goodnight, Darling."

Daniel blinked, dumbfounded. Vala had never backed down from her arguments about why they should "just have sex, already". Ever. He was still too shocked to say anything, even as she walked past him, towards her own room.

She turned back, about halfway there, "Look, Daniel, about Tuesday... I was wondering-"

There was the catch. There was _always_ a catch. She dropped one matter in the hopes of pursuing another, "Vala, not now. I'm not your personal taxi."

Even as he spoke, he was heading for the door to his room. He didn't see the look of real disappointment on Vala's face, or hear her finish her request; "- if you wanted to go out to dinner", and by the time he bothered to turn around- to apologize, to see if she was still there, he wasn't really sure- she was already gone. He stood there for a moment longer, then entered his quarters, trying not to think about the fact that something in Vala's voice had changed, when she'd mentioned Tuesday. It didn't really matter, after all, he tried telling himself, as he flopped onto his mattress. Vala was rarely serious, and when she was, she usually found some way to avoid anyone realizing it was serious. But the nagging feeling that she'd had a legitimate question wouldn't leave him, and curiosity was eating at him. He knew he'd never get an answer from her, if he asked, though. With Vala, you pretty much got one chance with whatever she had to say; if you didn't listen the first time, she likely wasn't going to tell you later. _I should have listened to her_, Daniel thought. But on the other hand, maybe it was best that he hadn't.

If he was completely honest with himself- which he could admit (to himself, anyway) wasn't often- he knew there was _something_ between himself and his raven-haired counterpart. At least from his end. Vala cared about him; that much was plain for _everyone_ to see. But she cared about the rest of the team too, so that wasn't exactly saying much. The idea that she might actually have any _serious_ feelings for him was a completely ridiculous one, which was exactly why never in a million years would he say anything to her. Yes, she was trustworthy- mostly- now, yes, she had come a long way from the woman who'd stolen a USAF ship, the woman who never formed any sort of lasting relationship, but he wasn't sure she could ever be trusted in an intimate relationship. And even if his opinion on that changed at any point; so long as there was even the tiniest nagging doubt, he wouldn't be able to fully trust her.

Having thus convinced himself, Daniel steered his thoughts away from Vala, and towards the return of Jonas, and the group he'd brought with him. That was a much safer line of thought.

* * *

With proper care, Jonas recovered quite quickly- albeit slower than his people-, and nearly two weeks later found him sitting at a table in the commissary with SG-1, Teal'c, and Sam- Jack wasn't due to return to Colorado Springs until the launch of the _General Hammond_ that weekend; Sam herself had only just gotten back a few hours before, making this the first time she'd seen Jonas since visiting him in the infirmary- which made their table possibly the noisiest in the room. The latest burst of noise was a round of laughter as Sam mocked Cam for his, as she called it, ability to lose his pants (there had been two such incidents in the last three months). Cam actually managed to keep from blushing, which was more than he'd managed when his ex had overheard that story.

Glares were thrown at the group from the rest of the inhabitants of the commissary, though such looks were ignored, as Cam began a story of his own. That was the way most of the afternoon had been spent; stories of their lives- Cam's and Vala's included- in the last five years were traded (Jonas had particularly enjoyed Cam's retelling of the Kor Mak bracelets incident), and the obligatory "remember when"s were talked about.

So far, Jonas had fit right back in with his friends, which Daniel was sure he'd been worried about. As far as Cam and Vala went... Cam had decided he liked the man before he'd ever met him, and the last two weeks hadn't done anything to change that. Vala apparently liked him as well, for she had spent a good deal of time with him since Dr. Lam had let him out of the infirmary, promising to help him get reacquainted with Earth. Jonas hadn't seemed exactly sure what to do with the attention he was being given, but he had relaxed after Daniel had told him a little bit about his fellow alien.

"So, Jonas," said Cam, finally getting to the subject that he had likely been dying to get around too all afternoon, "General Landry said you mentioned wanting to stay with the SGC?"

Jonas nodded, swallowing a mouthful of Jello before he replied- his lunch tray had been loaded with a variety of things that had made Sam watch in envy, and mutter about wanting his metabolism-, "Yeah... I've missed this place, and after everything that's happened... Well, let's just say the quiet life isn't as appealing as it was _before_ I found out about the 'gate."

"Amen to that," Daniel agreed. Anymore, the very idea of not going to other planets, not exploring wasn't one he liked.

"Whadda ya say to rejoining SG-1?" Cam asked, "With Sam going off in her shiny new ship, we're a scientist short of a full team."

"I wondered when he was gonna get around to asking," Daniel muttered to both Sam and Vala.

"Oh, he's practically been bursting at the seams with anticipation all day, darling," Vala replied, not bothering to lower her voice,"I believe the term is 'like a kid at Christmas'?"

Daniel smirked at that, though not because it summed up Cam's demeanor- which it did well-, but because not so long ago, Vala wouldn't have understood what that meant, much less possessed the ability to use the phrase correctly. They still hadn't managed to get her to stop using "packed full of jam", though. Catching the smirk, Vala smiled at him, silver eyes sparkling with their usual mischief. Daniel couldn't help but smile back at her, despite his best attempts not to.

The moment was gone so quickly, with Vala having returned her attention to Cam, and Jonas, that Daniel wasn't entirely sure if it had happened at all. But he refused to let himself dwell on it; instead, he focused on Cam and Jonas as well, awaiting the answer to the question.

Jonas was giving everyone one of his patent megawatt smiles, "As soon as you can convince Dr. Lam that I'm ready for active duty, I'm all yours, Colonel."

"I'm sure I could get her to sign off on a three-week trip on the _General_," Cam replied, "It should seem uneventful enough for her."

"Yes, because all of our jaunts into space have been _so_ relaxing," said Daniel. Ignoring the look Cam gave him, he said to Jonas, "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

With the matter settled, the conversation turned instead towards previous disasters on the USAF ships.

* * *


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2 for you all. Vala's POV this time... There won't really be any particular pattern to the POVs.... just whoever I happen to feel like writing for at the time.

Since I usually write chapters with a certain song(s) playing in the background (though they don't always have anything at all to do with what's going on XD), the song that I listened to while writing this one was "Things I'll Never Say", specifically, "If I could say what I wanna say, I'd say I wanna blow you away, be with you every night"... which actually fits with at least some of this chapter =P

Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/alerted this. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Vala was unbelievably _bored_... and the ship hadn't even been in hyperspace for an hour yet. Of course, Vala was usually bored, when she didn't have her Daniel nearby to annoy. Cam was just too easy going to be riled the way Daniel could be, Teal'c, if he had been there, would just stare ahead as if she didn't exist, Sam was off limits simply because she was the only woman in the SGC that didn't think she needed to be sent back to where she came from, and Jack... Well, Jack was her partner in crime, and was likely every bit as bored as she was. Daniel had yet to return from unpacking things in his quarters, and he had locked the door, preventing anyone- namely Vala and Jack- from getting in.

The locked door left Vala without any source of entertainment. Well, any tried-and-true source, anyway. She was still working out exactly how to handle her new team member, Jonas. He, like Cam, was too easy going... But unlike Cam, she could make him blush bright enough to light up a room, which was more than she could get from Daniel, as he'd long since become immune to her innuendo, and she was certainly enjoying that. But she wasn't sure just how much torment he would put up with, just yet. Everyone had a breaking point, after all, and the last thing she needed was someone _else_ complaining to Daniel that "his girlfriend was at it again". _That_ certainly wouldn't go over well with her dear archeologist. Her tagging along behind him he could take, but apparently complaints from SGC personnel were the proverbial straws.

Where once she might have enjoyed the fact that she could piss the bookworm off so severely that he was driven to request time off simply to be rid of the nuisance, that had changed over the years she had worked with him. Instead of going completely crazy, just to see how far she could push him, she found herself holding back, so as not to upset him- too much, anyway- so she wouldn't be chased out of his office, or so he wouldn't just walk away without a word, and leave her standing alone, wishing he would change his mind and come back... It was a very unsettling thing, really. She had done her best to _ignore_ it at first, but when that had failed, she had started to think of ways to deal with it. She wasn't entirely sure what _it_ was, but _it_ needed dealing with. Eventually she had convinced herself to just ask Daniel out to dinner, and see what happened, but the request had been shot down before she had even finished it. She had made two more attempts to get the man on a date; one request had been interrupted when Cam had popped into Daniel's office, to ask if they wanted to join him in a game of basketball. The second had been just the night before; she had actually managed to get the question out, but either Daniel hadn't been listening, or she had spoken to quickly for him to understand what she was trying to say, because he had been called away a moment later, and he'd left, muttering vaguely about not catching that, and that they could talk later.

Frankly, Vala was beginning to get fed up with things constantly ruining her plans.

She was also getting fed up with the lack of anything to _do_. Right then, she was sitting in _the_ chair, spinning back and forth, occasionally winking at the cute airman who handled weapons- something Rosen was his name- and sighing loudly from time to time, to make her boredom known. Personally, she didn't see the excitement about the chair; it was dreadfully uncomfortable for one, and for another, the only useful function it had was the intercom button. All the really fascinating controls were on the consoles to the left, and right. Unfortunately, those seats were occupied.

Starting to get dizzy from the spinning, Vala used her foot to break, and let out another long, loud sigh, drawing the attention of several SFs from nearby. _I really need to start bringing some form of entertainment... Other than Daniel_, she thought, with a yawn. She slumped further down in the chair, propped one foot on the left arm, and draped the other over said arm, letting her foot dangle in the air, only to get a glare from 'Something' Rosen when she accidentally kicked him, as he got up from his station.

She might have actually had to get an apology out, if someone above her hadn't cleared their throat. Instead, she bent her neck backwards to look- upside down- at whomever was trying to get her attention. Sam stood there, one eyebrow raised- did these people _practice_ that trick? 'Cause she couldn't manage it- and her arms crossed, but with an amused smirk on her lips.

"Bored?"

"_Yes_," Vala groaned in reply. Not bothering to disguise the hint of hopefulness in her voice, she continued with, "Has Daniel unlocked his quarters yet?"

"Sorry, no," said Sam, looking sympathetic- though whether the sympathy was for Vala, or for Daniel was unclear- , "But Cam and Jonas are in the gym."

"I thought Carolyn specifically told Jonas to _avoid_ places like the gym," Vala sat up straight, and stretched as she spoke; looking at Sam upside down had started to hurt.

Sam shrugged, "I think Cam is showing him the basics of the Sodan fighting style... They promised to keep any actual sparring to a minimum, but that won't last long."

When nothing else was said for several long moments, Vala realized that Sam was waiting for her to get up, so she could sit. Giving the blonde woman a sheepish grin, she removed herself from the chair. Sam muttered a quick "thanks" and sat.

"So, how's the command going so far?"

"Well, nothing's exploded yet... but Ja- General O'Neill insists that it's only a matter of time before something attacks us."

Had they not been surrounded by other people, Vala may have commented on Sam's little slip-up. Technically, the fact that Sam was seeing the General wasn't anything against the regs, as the good General was, officially speaking, retired. Though, also officially speaking, he was aboard the ship for the purpose of... Well, Vala couldn't exactly remember _what_ excuse he had made for using his influence to get himself a spot on the ship, but he'd made one, and only the thickest of people had actually bought it. Just like only the thickest of people _really_ thought that all those trips to Colorado Springs since his promotion to head of Homeworld Security were for business. It was really too bad that she was trying to behave; otherwise she could have made a bet with some unsuspecting airman about whose quarters General O'Neill was actually spending his time in.

Instead of pointing out the mistake- that was for later, when they had what would now have to be their weekly girls' night _in_-, Vala said, "You know, you should really think about changing the design on those chairs... They're awful."

And with that she bounded off away from the bridge, intending to head for the gym where she could either get in a sparring match with Mitchell, or perhaps just enjoy the view while he showed Jonas the ropes.

* * *

"You got that?"

The training session had been going on for the better part of two hours, and Vala had been greatly enjoying watching Mitchell and Jonas repeatedly knock each other on their respective asses. It was almost as much fun as watching Teal'c cause Mitchell to nearly become a permanent part of the mat. Unfortunately, Muscles had opted out of this trip, and thus that form of entertainment wasn't available. Right then, Mitchell was trying to demonstrate the best way to block attacks from specific weapons. It never took more than once for Jonas to get a move down, which was rather remarkable, considering Mitchell himself admitted to having had to get knocked over the head more than a few times, before he learned the lesson of the day. Jonas just insisted that he was nothing but a "quick study".

"Shall I start making bets on who collapses first?" Vala chimed in, when the men separated for a moment, doubling over to huff and heave in exhaustion.

"Nah... We're done," Mitchell gasped, "Just don't tell the doc when we get home. She'd have both our heads."

"Depends on what you're offering in return," Vala teased in response, with a saucy wink.

Mitchell only shook his head, and waved a dismissive hand at her, as he retreated towards the showers. Vala expected Jonas to follow him; instead, her fellow alien joined her on the padded bench she'd occupied while he and Mitchell sparred.

"I take it Daniel was unavailable," he said, amusement coloring his tone, "Otherwise you wouldn't have been here."

Vala considered taking offense to the fact that he thought anything she did that didn't involve Daniel, she only did because Daniel wasn't 'available'.... She decided against it when she realized that, for the most part, it was the truth. But she wasn't going to say that to him, "Why can't I have just been enjoying the view?"

"Would that be the 'sweat and bare arms' view, or the 'hitting each other' view?"

Vala pretended to think on the matter for a moment, then replied, "A little of both. But it's more fun when Muscles is here."

Jonas laughed aloud at that, having no need to ask who 'Muscles' was. "Well, maybe once I'm fully recovered, there'll be a better performance."

Vala considered answering with some form of innuendo, before deciding that the comment was _far_ to easy to pick at, so she kept the reply penned in. She had almost worked up the will to get something else out when Jonas spoke again.

"So, you and Daniel... Are you two....," he paused, studied her for a moment, then continued quickly, "Not that's it's any of my business, it's just that you seem close, and...." he didn't bother finishing the sentence.

Vala _almost_ blurted out her first thought; _Don't I wish_. It wasn't common sense that stopped her from doing so- though it _was_ a smart decision... imagine if any of this conversation made back to the archeologist-, but the surprise that came from the fact that he thought that she and Daniel were together. Surely her... she hesitated to think "feelings", because that was, as far as her history was concerned, a rather strong word.... surely whatever was between herself and Daniel wasn't so obvious that the newbie could catch it, was it? Did that mean that everyone else knew, too, and just hadn't said anything?... Did _Daniel_ know, and was just avoiding the matter?... _No... No, Daniel doesn't know_, she assured herself_, Jonas is just... what did Sam say? Hyper-aware? Something about photographic memory. Of course he would notice the little things..._

When she realized that the longer she delayed answering, the more she confirmed his suspicions, she hurried to say something, anything, "Ah, no... No we're not. Why? You're not interested, are you, darling?" Maybe a little flirting would fluster him enough to stop him from noticing her delayed response.

"Hah, no... No, I was just curious. I hadn't heard him mention anyone, and like I said, you two seem close."

They sat in an awkward silence for several long moments, before Vala decided a nice abrupt subject change was in order, "So, what's your story?"

"My story?"

"Yes, your story... Your reason for joining the SGC, or, rejoining. We all have one," and she knew most of them due to leading questions, and intuition.

Jonas shrugged, and looked away for a moment, before he replied, "I was a fugitive." The answer was a clear dodge, if Vala had ever seen one. And she'd seen a lot of them.

Now with curiosity gnawing at her, she said, "Well, there's _obviously_ more to it than _that_," she just wanted to know _what_, "Surely-"

But Jonas was already getting to his feet. To his credit, he didn't shoot up like a bullet, nor did he storm out of the room. But despite the fact that it was a very calm, natural way of doing so, he was still running away, "I really need to get to the showers. I'll see you later." With that, he turned, and left, heading for the door Mitchell had taken, leaving Vala with the all too familiar knowledge that she had pushed one button too many.

But the problem was, she didn't recall having purposefully pushed more than one.

* * *

After waiting for several hours for Daniel to finally come out of his quarters, Vala had expected a lot of greetings from the archeologist when she caught up to him; the one she got wasn't one of her expected responses...

She found him in a corridor on level eight, heading towards the elevator; likely on his way to the bridge, to see how Sam was doing. Whatever he was doing, it didn't really matter to Vala, so long as she could catch him, and begin to pour out the day's events at warp speeds, and perhaps work in a request that he accompany her to dinner- sure, a date in the commissary wasn't the same as going out to a nice restaurant, but it would have to do-, provided something didn't interrupt. _Again_. She took a glance around the corner to make sure Daniel was still heading in her direction, and took a deep breath, then stepped out of the doorway she'd taken shelter in.

"Ah, Daniel! Finally!" She practically skipped towards him. She faltered a bit when she didn't get the frown, the groan, or the gruff response she had been expecting. Instead, for a brief moment, the man actually smiled at her, as if he was glad that she had found him. She didn't stop moving though, and upon reaching him, she latched on to his arm, and began to tell him what had gone on, and how unbelievably _bored_ she had been.

Despite the cheerful chatter, she was actually rather out of sorts in her head. She had become so used to Daniel's gruff manner when he dealt with her, that anything else was strange. Sure, he offered her the odd smile now and again, or the heartfelt conversation, when things were getting tough on a mission. The problem was, those moments were few and far between. The bigger problem; they gave her hope. Every time he smiled at her, instead of telling her to go away, and pester someone else, she felt a slight spark of hope that maybe someday her advances would pay off. And then she would say something- or he would take something she said the wrong way- and it was right back to insults, and arguments. The man was so damn _confusing_. Sometimes she wondered if even _he_ knew what he thought of her, and his own indecision was the reason for his different responses.

Though, as long as she was apparently on his good side, she may as well get her question out, "Say, Daniel... I was wondering if you-"

_SG-1 to the bridge_, said a voice over the intercom, _SG-1 to the bridge_.

Vala immediately started planning ways she could kill the owner of the voice. The scenarios that included opening one of the airlocks sounded good... Yet _again_ she had been interrupted. Though in the back of her mind, she began to wonder if the constant interruptions meant something. Heaving out a disappointed sigh, Vala hurried to catch up to Daniel, who, while she had been plotting murder, had jogged ahead.

On the bridge, they found Sam looking out the window, at the planet below- when had they dropped out of hyperspace?-, with her were Mitchell, and Jack.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked, he and Vala moving to stand with the others.

"We just got a subspace message from the SGC," said Sam, "SG-12 ran into trouble on P9F-187; they're cut off from the gate, and under fire. The planet was on our route, so we've stopped to offer assistance."

"What did I miss?" Jonas arrived at last, out of breath, as though he had run the whole way.

"I was going to ask the same thing," said Jack, "'Cause, and correct me if I'm wrong, Samantha, don't we have beaming tech on this hunk of metal? Beam them up, Scotty, and let's get on our merry way..."

"We tried, sir," Sam replied, "Their trackers have been removed, or disabled."

"Can't you lock on to their radio signals?" Jonas asked, joining the rest of the team at the window.

"We can, but it will take some time to recalibrate the sensors to their signals, and I don't know how much longer they can last down there."

"So we're the back-up," said Mitchell, and Sam nodded, "Great. Alright, Jackson, Vala, gear up."

"What about-" Jonas started to say, as Mitchell, Daniel, and Vala headed for the corridor.

"This was supposed to be an excitement-free week for you," Mitchell interrupted. Vala caught sight of him pausing for a moment in the doorway, and she slowed, to hear what else he had to say, "You're gonna have to sit this one out."

* * *

Vala was sure she had a pretty good idea of who had SG-12 pinned down: she knew 187; it was a planet which provided the Lucian Alliance with a good deal of their Kasa. If she recalled, SG-12 had been on the planet in the first place so they could try and destroy the crops. She'd be willing to bet a month's pay that the Alliance were the ones who'd removed the trackers from SG-12, and that they were responsible for the fire-fight that she, and _most_ of her team were walking in to. The planet _might_ have been nice, if it hadn't decided to start pouring rain, not two minutes after they'd been beamed down from the _General_.

They'd had Sam drop them a little ways away from the actual fight, so they could sneak up on the enemy combatants from behind. They weren't sure how many there were, but if everything went according to plan, that wouldn't matter. All they had to do was hold them off long enough for the techs on the _General_ to get the beaming sensors recalibrated, and then they just had to be beamed right back up to the ship. Maybe when they got back, she'd find Jonas, and try to cheer him up; she knew what being forced to stay behind was like, though at least _she_ hadn't been an official member of the team at the time.

"SG-12, this is Colonel Mitchell of SG-1," Mitchell said into his radio, "We're approaching your position."

_It's good to hear from you, Colonel_, was the staticy reply,_ You're just in time, too. Reiger's been shot; he's losin' a lot of blood, and Jones took a stunner blast to the head. _

"Just hold tight, Sharpe," said Mitchell, "The _General_ is in orbit; they're trying to work a way to beam you outta there. We're just here to help out 'til then."

_Understood, Colonel. _

As the radio went silent, they reached the rise over-looking the "battlefield", all dropping as low to the ground as they could as they did so. SG-12 was pinned down behind the burned out remains of an old house. Two of the men were lying in the center of the ruin. The one that was actually moving had to be Reiger, and the one slumped against an old beam- with a rather vacant look on his face- had to be Jones. Sharpe and the fourth man on the team were near the front, peering over their rock shelters at the dozen men or so that blocked their way to the 'gate.

"We ready, guys?" Mitchell asked, checking over his P-90.

"As we'll ever be," Daniel replied, as Vala nodded.

As Mitchell gave no order one way or the other as to what body parts they should be aiming for, Vala went for between the shoulders on her first target. Easier to hit than the head; more likely to kill or at least keep them from continuing to fight than going for the extremities.... And sometimes just how military her thinking had become over the years scared her.

She cleared her mind of the thought, checked her aim one more time, and fired, the deafening roar of the gun amplified by the accompanying fire of Daniel and Mitchell's own weapons. Her first target went down, then her second. The third she was only able to clip in the shoulder, as he dove for cover. She didn't miss when he came back up to try and get off a lucky shot.

The Alliance thugs- if Vala was right, and they were in fact part of the Lucian Alliance- didn't stand a chance, not while they were being fired on from behind, as well as in front. The last one went down, just as the white light of the Asgard beams engulfed SG-1, and SG-12-

-and they all found themselves standing- or lying, in the cases of Reiger and Jones- in the _General_'s infirmary. The nurses hurried to work, shooing those who weren't injured out of the way, while pulling the wounded- or stunned- men onto stretchers, and lifting them up on to the infirmary beds. Vala didn't envy them; the so-called "beds" were far too uncomfortable. She knew; she'd spent enough time in them, in the four years she'd been involved with the SGC- the two months she spent stuck with Daniel being the starting point- and she doubted they had gotten any better in the short time since her last stay.

Done feeling sorry for Reiger and Jones, Vala turned to talk to Daniel, only to see that he was no longer in the infirmary. _Oh for the love of-_

She sighed, and jogged out of the room, to try and catch Daniel, and was rewarded for her efforts by nearly slamming into Jonas as she rounded the corner.

"Ah! Sorry!" she exclaimed as she skidded to a halt.

"It's okay," Jonas replied, stepping out of her way, "Daniel went that way," he added, pointing to the left.

"Oh... Thank you," she said, moving to the left. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jonas shaking his head, smiling. But there was Daniel; time to just get the damned question out, before any other crisis appeared- though once she had succeeded, she'd have to get back to the cheering up scenario she had considered on the planet- "Daniel!"

Daniel turned, "Oh, there you are."

"Yes, " Vala said, stopping just short of him, "Here I am."

Several long moments of silence passed before Daniel finally asked, "Was there something you needed?"

"Yes, actually. Daniel, would you like to-"

_SG-1, report to the bridge._

_Oh come on! REALLY!?_ Vala mentally screamed, _This can't be happening AGAIN... _

"Sam probably wants to know what went on, on the planet," said Daniel, turning, and heading for the elevator.

Vala huffed in anger- _Dammit!-_, then followed him, wondering if some higher being somewhere was getting a kick out of her misfortune. Going from what she had learned over the years, they were probably placing ­_bets_ on the whole thing. Perhaps on when she finally snapped- which would likely be sooner rather than later.

* * *

Chp3 is Jonas' POV, and will be posted as soon as I've finished writing chp4 (I like to stay at least a chapter ahead, if not more).


	4. Chapter Three

Sorry it took so long to get this up... I STILL haven't finished Ch4, but I figured I would go ahead an update anyway. I can explain my lack of writing (read: excuse); Supernatural... The damn show has stolen my soul, I swear (Dean is love, seriously). I've been trying to get through it as fast as I can so I can get back on my regular writing schedule... and I'm 5 episodes away from finishing s3 (which just leaves s4... then it will be a while before I get to s5, because the only way I have to watch shows is to download them).

so, anyway, my new love *coughObsessioncough* aside... this chapter takes place at the same time as the last half of ch2... Couple of conversations revisted- though most are glossed over, for the sake of not repeating too much... I hope not to have to do TOO many chapters like this. Sure, some will be at the same time, but hopefully most will cover different events, with only a few overlapping points.

my beta had some issues with this one, but try as I might, I couldn't find a way to rewrite that particular bit...

Be warned; I couldn't resist giving poor poor Jonas some major angst. Why? Because I am evil to the characters. I've had D and V suffer before, mostly in oneshots (their kid(s) dying (Daniel too, in one), the world ending), in Eternal, which I never finished cause canon ruined my theory, I was going for major pain for Sam and Jack... So I figured it was Jonas' turn for a little angstyness. As for his reason for angst: since I know you will ask it; yeah, I kick puppies, too =P

Anyway, disclaimer (don't own it. if I did, things would be a 'shipper heaven... well, D/V and S/J shipper heaven anyway), and on with the fic. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Three

Jonas wasn't really sure _why_ he had come to sit with his new co-worker, but he had. He _certainly_ didn't know why he had thought to ask about her personal relationship- or lack thereof- with Daniel. But he had. The silence that followed the question spoke louder than her words did; there was something there, at least on her end, but she wouldn't admit it. Then she asked if _he_ was interested, and for a split second, it had his mind reeling. For that split second, he recalled a similar question- _I'm always alone at these things. Why? You interested?- _coming from a very similar dark-haired young woman. He believed Sam had referred to the feeling as "deja vu". Only it wasn't just deja vu; with the conjured memory came others... more painful others.

Still, he responded as if he hadn't had the brief flash-back, "Hah, no... I was just curious. I hadn't heard him mention anyone, and you two seem close."

That was certainly the truth. During the short time he'd been back on Earth, he had rarely seen ei ther Vala or Daniel out of the other's company. In fact, just about the only times had been when Vala had been with him. He hadn't been sure what to make of her attentions at first- mostly because of her constant contact with Daniel- but learning that she was that way with just about everyone, especially if she found them interesting, had helped him relax. Only, having relaxed around her brought up those memories, because Vala Mal Doran was just a little too much like Jaina Grolson for his liking. Or maybe the fact that he _did_ like it was the problem.

"So, what's your story?" the sudden question served as a wake-up call to Jonas, though he was sure Vala likely meant it as a nice change of subject.

"My story?" He wasn't sure he liked where this was heading. His "story" wasn't a happy one, and certainly not one he was eager to share, especially not with Vala.

"Yes, your story... Your reason for joining the SGC. Or, rejoining. We all have one."

He shrugged, as if it was nothing- _Fire, scorching heat. The screams-_ though for a moment, he looked away, "I was a fugitive." If he was even half-right about his new team mate's personality, she was going to see that for what it was; a dodge. There was little he could do about that; he never had been the greatest liar.

"Well, there's _obviously_ more to it than _that_," Vala said, as Jonas had expected she might. So, he got to his feet, as she continued to speak, "Surely-"

She stopped when she noticed he was no longer beside her. He said the first excuse that came to mind; "I really need to get to the showers. I'll see you later," and with that he retreated, from both the questions, and the memories they brought up.

* * *

Unfortunately, retreating had no effect. Once his mind started down that path, it was difficult to get it to go anywhere else. Right then, it seemed impossible, as opposed to just difficult. He tried to clear his mind, to make himself unaware of anything but the hot- or scalding, as the case was- water rushing over his skin. The water only brought forward memories of a rainy night, and some party- if one could call it that- that he had attended-

_He might never have spotted the woman, if she hadn't been lurking as far away from everyone else as was possible, without being obvious about it. She clearly didn't want to be there, which made her a kindred spirit. Jonas __**hated **__these things. Always the same boring gossip, the same boring people. Of course, everything seemed boring after his time on Earth. He'd gotten one more dose of the excitement he had become accustomed to when that vein of naquada had been discovered, and ever since, being on his homeworld had become increasingly unsatisfying._

_He didn't get the chance to talk to the woman until closer to the end of the function, at which point it was obvious everyone was going to be there for a while longer, because the rain was coming down even harder than it had been before, and to even step out the door would result in an immediate soaking. Though he hadn't gone to her, so much as she had ambushed him, when he least expected it._

_"You look as bored as I feel," she certainly moved stealthily; he hadn't even noticed her move from her previous spot of floor._

_"I probably am," said Jonas, thankful that his tongue didn't betray him, due to his surprise, and refuse to work, "It's always the same thing, again and again."_

_"Oh, I know," her town was full of contempt. Then, she sighed, "Oh well. At least I'm no longer bored alone. I'm Jaina. Jaina Grolson."_

_"Jonas Quinn," he replied. He began to say something else, only to be cut off by a particularly loud clap of thunder, and bright flash of lightning, "Something tells me we're going to be here for a while."_

_"Unfortunately," said Jaina, the contempt present in her tone again. Though when she continued, it was in a happier, more energetic voice, "So, you're here by yourself?"_

_"What makes you think that?" truthfully, he __**was**__, but it wasn't exactly this girl's business._

_"Because I didn't get chased off by some pretty blonde miraculously returning with drinks the moment I tried to talk to you."_

_That actually got a laugh, and earned her an answer, "Yes, I'm here alone. You?"_

_"I'm always alone at these things. Why? You interested?" _

_If he was completely honest; yes, he was. Aside from being rather pretty- not exactly a beauty, but pretty, in a strange way, with short-cropped black hair, and brown eyes that clearly showed a prankster lurking beneath the surface- something about her very forward nature attracted him. Perhaps it was because in all his time on his home planet, after his return from Earth, he'd been surrounded by high society twits that would talk in circles for hours, before finally getting to what they really wanted to discuss, and even then, it was usually a cover for something else._

- and had been extremely thankful to leave, once the rain had stopped, though he hadn't left alone. Jonas turned his face up towards the shower head, not really noticing that the water was starting to turn cold. He was stuck now, in the memories, and he knew it. It hadn't been but six months after that first meeting that he had married Jaina. It was barely a year after that, that the prior came through the gate... That the altar had been built... And the burnings- Jonas snapped his eyes open, trying to keep from going down that particular lane in memory. The cold water straight to the eyes did the trick, the shock of it causing him to breathe in for just a moment, before he caught himself. But, by then it was too late; he'd already breathed in a sufficient amount of water, and before he knew it, he was coughing and wheezing, as his lungs tried to rid themselves of the unwanted liquid.

Still hacking, he turned off the water, and grabbed the towel hanging just outside the shower cubicle. Towel secured around his waist, he ventured out into the main locker room, towards the sinks, and mirrors. The entire room was filled with steam, so thick it was hard to see. So thick it might have been smoke-

_"Jonas!"_

_The voice made Jonas jump nearly out of his seat; he'd practically been asleep at his desk. That was a common place for him to fall asleep these days. The prior had been coming and going for months now, and still no way of killing him had been discovered. They had lost three people in their last attempt. Thankfully, no identities but those of the deceased had been revealed. Secrecy was key to the survival of his little underground group. They were quite literally underground, too. Few people knew about the catacombs beneath the city, left over from when the Goa'uld had ruled the planet, which made them the perfect hiding place. _

_"What is it, Gracen?" He glanced at the clock on the wall; strange, shouldn't Jaina have been back by now? Had she come to his office, seen him sleeping and left him there?_

_"It's Jaina," the words themselves were simple enough. It was the fear, and regret with which they were said that made Jonas narrow his eyes._

_"What about her?"_

_"We tried everything, Jonas... I don't even know how they knew... Came out of nowhere-" _

_Jonas cut Gracen's babbling short, "Gracen. __**Where**__ is my wife?" He feared he already knew the answer, but he wasn't going to admit it, wasn't going to let himself believe it, not till he actually heard the words. _

_"It was the prior... Caught us when we were making a run for the tunnel entrance-"_

_  
"Where the hell is my wife, Gracen!?"_

_The shout snapped Gracen back into reality, and as his shoulders sagged, he said, "At the altar... They've no doubt begun the 'ceremony', already."_

_Jonas was on his feet, and shoving past his fellow "un-believer" before the man could even finish what he was saying. _

_"Jonas! Wait! You'll just get yourself thrown on the fire with her!"_

_Gracen's shouts followed Jonas down the hall, echoing through the long tunnel, as if the walls themselves were carrying the message, trying to get him to stop. He payed them no heed; he was going to get to the square, and he was going to save Jaina, or die trying. _

_By the time he'd even reached the surface, his lungs were burning, but still he didn't slow down. If anything, he pushed himself to run faster. _

_He arrived at the altar just in time to hear the closing words of the speech given before all burnings; "Hallowed are the Ori."_

_The crowd spoke as one with the prior, "Hallowed are the Ori."_

_Jonas shoved his way through the mass of people, getting angry shouts as a reward, but he ignored them; he __**had**__ to get to the altar, before they started the fire. Jaina saw him before he saw her._

_"Jonas!" she cried. Oh how it made his heart ache to hear the fear in her voice. Tears had already made tracks down her face, panic had already made her skin ghostly pale. And all these people around her. These were people they __**knew**__, for crying out loud. They had both worked with these people for years. Some of them had once been considered friends, yet they were all standing there, doing __**nothing**__. _

_"Jaina!" Jonas tried to step on to the altar, but those people he had once called friends grabbed him, holding him back. At the end of the stone platform, the torchbearers lit the oil that would carry the flames to their intended victim, "No! Let me go! Jaina!" He struggled, but for every hand he broke free of, two more took it's place, as more and more people joined in keeping him still. The torchbearers tipped the vat of burning oil, allowing the liquid to begin it's trek to the center of the altar._

_"Jonas!" it was more of a sob, this time, a desperate plea. He could see her eyes following the fire as it wound its way towards her, and he wished so desperately that he could __**just get free**__, then he could get her out, and everything would be okay. She wouldn't be watching her death slowly approaching her; he wouldn't be wishing he was there instead._

_"Jaina! Jaina, look at me," if he couldn't get loose, at least he could keep her gaze away from the fire, "Don't look at the- Jaina! Stop. Look at __**me**__."_

_When she finally did, Jonas almost wished she hadn't. The utter despair in her eyes was too much to take. But he wasn't going to look away. "I love you," the words would be her last. They both knew it. Still, she didn't look back at the fire, though it was close enough now to be licking the fabric of her pants. It was barely a second later that the fabric actually caught fire, and the cries of pain began._

_Jonas refused to give up, refused to accept the finality of Jaina's words. Her cries only refueled his will to escape, to get her free. He struggled against his captors with new vigor, elbowing one in the face, and for a moment, he was free. For one moment, he was moving towards the fire. Then they had him again; then Jaina was really screaming, as the fire climbed its way up her body._

_"No! Jaina!" Jonas' own bellows matched his wife's screams in volume, "__**NO!**__"_

_Even once the square had filled with smoke, as the fire died down, the agonized shouts still reverberated through the otherwise quiet streets._

_- _but somehow he actually made it to a mirror without tripping over something. With the coughing finally easing off, he wiped the condensation off of the mirror with one hand. The reflection looking back at him was much the same as it had always been, a man who perhaps looked younger than he was, with his hair once again in a buzz-cut. But for the new scars acquired over the years- the most prominent being a crescent-shaped one under his left eye- he might still have been the kid of twenty-two who'd decided he wanted to explore the galaxy. If only. Looking at the crescent scar, he remembered how easy it had been to get out of his own death sentence, on Langara. The completely emotionless state he'd entered after the burning had turned him into a better liar than he'd been before, or since; they had believed him when he'd claimed that he'd had no idea of his wife's betrayal of the Ori. He was lucky the prior had left before they had gotten around to that issue, because he doubted he would have been successful in staving off impending doom if the good old preacher had been around. In the three years since, he'd almost gotten back to his old self. Then along came Vala, to bring up memories better left buried.

Of course, that wasn't her fault, and in hindsight, he realized he shouldn't have just left like he had. But, she never would have dropped the matter of his "story", and to even tell her a little bit- that he had decided to rejoin the SGC not because of the war on his planet, but because there was too much of his previous life there, too much of _her_, and that as long as he was out in the galaxy, doing some good, maybe it would make up for the fact that his resistance had gotten his wife killed- would have required that he tell her all of it. No doubt Vala would tell the others of what she had learned, and he didn't want their pity. The fact that he had come through the 'gate looking the way he had had gotten him more than enough of that.

Clearing his mind of anything to do with his home- though to be honest, ever since the incident with the naquadria bomb, it hadn't felt like home-, or why he'd left it, he dried as quickly as he could and dressed in the same fashion. As he pulled his blue BDU shirt on over the usual black t-shirt, he paused to look at the new patches that adorned the sleeves; the Earth symbol on one arm, the SG-1 insignia on the other. Buttoning the shirt, he smiled, and glanced about the room, imagining the rest of the ship, and the SGC; no, he hadn't _left_ home at all, he'd come back to it.

* * *

He was digging through his books, looking for something, anything, that he hadn't already read half a dozen times- because if he hadn't read them during his first year on earth, he'd _certainly _read them in his two weeks pent up in the infirmary- when he heard the call for SG-1 to report to the bridge. In his haste to comply, he tripped over the box that contained the books, sending them flying across the floor in a flurry of pages, and in a few cases, dust. Cursing in every language he knew, he gathered them all in a messy heap, dumping them back into their box. It was a crime, in his opinion, to leave them in such a state, but he didn't want to take the time to arrange them properly, the way they had been. With a last glance at the mess- it was going to be hell to get the creases out of those pages- he left his quarters, all but running.

By the time he got to the bridge, everyone else was already there.

"What did I miss?" he asked, hoping it hadn't been much.

"I was going to ask the same thing," said Jack, "'Cause, and correct me if I'm wrong, Samantha, don't we have beaming tech on this hunk of metal? Beam them up, Scotty, and let's get on our merry way..."

Sam explained that they had tried, but the subcutaneous trackers had been removed or disabled in each team member. Recalling the specs he'd seen on the Prometheus, and its beaming tech, he suggested the tried-and-true method; radio signals. Of course, that would mean recalibrating the ship's sensors, because the the trackers in place, they no longer had to be programmed to pick up the radio signals, which would mean that SG-12 would be under fire for however long the adjustment took. Which Sam confirmed.

"So we're the back-up," Cam said, and Sam nodded, "Great. Alright, Jackson, Vala, gear up."

Jonas wasn't oblivious to the lack of his name in that order, so as the rest of the team turned to leave, he started to say, "What about-"

Cam interrupted him, pausing a moment in the doorway, "This was supposed to be an excitement-free week for you. You're gonna have to sit this one out."

As Cam turned, and continued on his way, Jonas sighed. "Well, this seems familiar," he said with a pointed look at Jack, whom feigned an expression of innocence, meaning he knew exactly what Jonas meant. Being told to stay behind wasn't one of his favorite orders.

Sam offered him a sympathetic smile, "Don't worry. You'll be out saving the galaxy again in no time."

"Yes, because constant peril never gets old," Jack commented, from where he now sat in Sam's chair.

"That would explain why you decided to come on this trip, Sir," said Sam, a smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Jack responded with a similar smirk, and Jonas suddenly became aware of a rather different vibe coming from the pair than what had been present during his previous time on SG-1. He hadn't noticed before, because this was really the first time he'd actually seen them together- his arrival not included, because those had been special circumstances- in his time back on earth. If he _had_ seen them together before then, he would have noticed earlier. There was something more relaxed about their interactions- be it a conversation, or the quick looks they were giving each other right then... obviously they thought no one else noticed- than there ever had been. With a little smile of his own, Jonas wondered if maybe they had _finally _sorted out their issues.

After requesting that Sam radio him when the team got back, Jonas left the pair to their silent conversation, and returned to his quarters. Once there, he started on the task of straightening out the mess he'd made before, wishing he was down on the planet instead. He hadn't requested a spot on an SG team so he could sit around and do nothing. That was pretty much all he'd been able to do ever since he'd left in the first place. Sit and do nothing. The priors couldn't be killed, and anyone who tried was usually thrown into the fires. The war hadn't been much different. The end of the war had been even worse. After all, he and his merry band of rebels very clearly opposed the new government. It was because of their activities that the "shoot on sight" order had been given.... So many good people had been lost... The ten that had made it through the 'gate with him were all that was left out of a force that had been made up of over a hundred, when Kelowna had fallen to the Ori.

Placing the last book back in its rightful place, Jonas shook his head. _Here I am, feeling sorry for myself. I'm here. Sitting on the sidelines is only temporary. Dr. Lam said I just needed another week or so, then I was good to go_. He'd just have to keep repeating that thought to himself.... And continue his sparring matches with Cam, to get back in shape. Just a week, and he could be back in action. Of course, the odds of another crisis popping up in the remaining two weeks on the ship, after he could officially be on duty were rather slim.... Thinking on that for a moment, Jonas changed his assessment; the odds were actually quite good. If there was one thing SG-1 could do- no matter its members- it was get into trouble. With that thought in mind, he finally settled on something to read, flopped onto his bed- which he regretted because he was beginning to feel those bruises from the sparring match- and started reading halfway through the book, as he'd already read it twice, and usually had things memorized from the first go-round.

He'd just barely begun to get into it when he heard Sam over his radio, _Jonas, we've got the rest of the team. They're in the infirmary._

Infirmary? _Why would they be in the infirmary?_. "Were they injured?"

_No, they're fine. But Reiger and Jones from SG-12 took some hits._

Jonas had dropped the book, and was at the door before Sam finished speaking. By the time he got to the infirmary, Cam and Daniel were already on the way out.

"Hey. How did it go?"

"Kicked some ass, saved the team, mission successful," said Cam, sounding incredibly satisfied. He headed off in the direction of the locker rooms, "Hey, Jackson, Jonas, basketball later?"

"Sure," Daniel and Jonas said at the same time.

Jonas started to head into the infirmary, as Daniel headed off in the opposite direction, only to find himself nearly colliding with Vala.

The woman skidded to a halt, "Ah! Sorry!"

"It's okay," Jonas said, stepping out of the way. _No need to ask who she's after_, "Daniel went that way." he pointed in the direction Daniel had gone.

"Oh... Thank you," she replied, heading off. Jonas smiled and shook his head; it seemed she was always in a hurry, "Daniel!"

He didn't catch the doctor's reply, for they had already moved to far off. It wasn't but a minute later that he heard; _SG-1, report to the bridge._ There was _always_ something.

Again, he made his way to the bridge, and found that he wasn't the last one arriving that time, as Cam came in just a few moments after he did. Daniel and Vala had already arrived, and Vala was looking incredibly unhappy.

"So," said Sam, "Who do we have to thank for firing on our people?"

"Considering the planet, I'd say the Lucian Alliance," said Vala, sounding as unhappy as she looked.

"I'm sorry.... The Lucian Alliance?" Jonas asked, looking from person to person for an explanation.

"Oh, they're just another group of bad guys that we've managed to piss off," said Jack.

Cam shrugged, "It's a talent. Anyway, they're a group of thugs that took advantage of the power vacuum that the goa'uld left when they kicked the bucket. They've been an occasional pain in our asses ever since."

"But this is first time they've actually attacked a team in several years," said Daniel, raising an eyebrow at Vala's clearly hostile disposition, "Guess we knew that wouldn't last forever."

As the whys and hows of SG-12's capture, and attack were discussed- along with vague plans of how to get information on who was in charge of the Alliance now- Jonas couldn't help but think- not for the first time, and likely not the last; _It's good to be back._

* * *

I promise, I will get ch4 to you as soon as possible... It'll be Vala's POV (provided I don't change my mind, and rewrite it AGAIN), again (remember when I said it depended on who I felt like writing?)... If you all like, I can have my beta handcuff me to my keyboard. Though considering I've been watching my new show on the computer, that might not do much good....

Seriously, will get it done as fast as I can.


End file.
